Stickstugan/Lottas Krukmakeri
visual identity, photography, motion graphics and video
OVERVIEW
Here you can find handcrafted ceramics, KNITWEAR AND BAKED GOODS, ALL IN A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN
Stickstugan is a small company on Åland that has existed for over 30 years and has gone through several changes over the years. The owner Lotta Gustafsson, started with the sale of fabrics and yarn under the name Lottas Systuga. When the focus moved away from fabrics and focused more on yarn and handicrafts the name also changed to Stickstugan. Fifteen and some years ago, the business was expanded with a café and a garden. The latest development is the creation and sale of handmade ceramics under the name Lottas Krukmakeri.
In the company, I have sole responsibility for all graphic design, such as: creation of graphic profile and logo; design of brochures, signs, seed bags, knitting kits, work clothes, postcards and gift cards. Before the business moved to social media, also the design and creation of the website and newspaper ads. All photography for the company such as products, baking goods, the garden, for exhibitions, travel and tourist magazines and baking books, etc. is done by me. On social media, a mixture of mine and the owner's own photos are used as I am not always on site.
Project scope:
- Logotype
- Associated type and colours
- Icons
- Photography
- Social media/video
- Prints
LOGO: STICKSTUGAN
TIMELESS Classics
Lotta has an old fashion style, and she brings that in to all that she does in the business. It's the classic red house with white corners, old furniture, use of enamelware and yellowed books in front of the antique cast iron fireplace.
The aim of the logo for Stickstugan was to make it timeless, to capture Lotta's style and the atmosphere that she creates. The classic serif has been used throughout the ages, it speaks about time, sophistication, elegence and hard work; it captures it all. The letters are close together, with some of the finer lines running through to the next one, like a thread, just how it is on the backside of a embroidery.
The alternative logo represents the whole business, the location where Lotta does her work and receive customers. It's the original logo with the added informitive words describing what can be found on the location. These are in a rougher san-serif with some bleed, to get that old print feeling, when it used to be made by hand. This to emphasize what the words stand for; the craftmanship that's behind every aspect of the business.
LOGO: LOTTAS KRUKMAKERI
making it personal in the factory
With the logo for Lottas Krukmakeri the aim was to get that old abandoned factory feeling. The worn san-serif with its rough edges used for Krukmakeri nails that look perfectly, with its reminder of a stamp. The use of a handwritten font for the name Lottas emphasizes the person that stands behind the brand, makes it personal, it is after all not a machine making these products but a very real person, a person making her craft.
TYPE
TYPE IT OUT
In the use of type the aim was to match with the overall look and feel of the business; old fashion and hand made. The type for Stickstugan's icons are short and has rounded edges, to simulate the stitching in the icons. The same mindset stands behind the type for Lottas Krukmakeri's icons, where a rougher style has been used. It's also a type that's used for headlines. Contrasting types and fonts are used for legibility.
COLOURS
OPPOSITES ATTRACTS
Lotta works with a lot of colours - strong, mellow, warm, cold - no matter if it's yarn, pottery, flowers or baked goods, it's colourful. Because of the colourful products it was important for the graphic design to not take focus from the products. The goal was to get the colours to work harmoniously with the products and still have enough contrast to be able to be read on the used background, which is mostly photographs.
Black and white is sophisticated and powerful, the work that's being put down day and night. The opposing colours speaks to the business's use of material, hard and soft, it speaks to the elegence and roughness. It's classic. As both sides of the business work closely together it was important that they share their colours, to make it a whole.
ICONS: STICKSTUGAN
STICH it in
Stickstugans icons includes instructions for washing and information about the material. The icons are kept simple for easy identification and to work in a smaller size and to work on various signs and lables. The lines imitate stiches, which is a link back to the name Stickstugan (eng. roughly translated to knitting cabin) and the handicraft.
ICONS: LOTTAS KRUKMAKERI
DRAWINGS on the chalkboard
The icons for Lottas Krukmakeri are used to inform the customers how it's safe to use the products, in an easily identifiable manner. The design is kept in line with the style of the brand with scratchy uneven lines, as it would be drawn on a chalkboard, to keep the feel of something made by hand.
PHOTOGRAPHY
A picture says more than a Thousand words
The photos are a key element for both Stickstugan and Lottas Krukmakeri. It's all about letting the pictures do the talking, to showcase the location, atmosphere and products. Everything is shot with natural light to get a soft and organic look. To keep to the old fashion style, vintage props, rusty baking trays and worn old wood are used, everything to get the right feeling. It's also important to incorporate nature into the pictures, as the garden is a big part of the business, and the work with natural products, like wool, clay and baking goods. It's about connecting to nature.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keeping it moving on Social Media
On social media you get a personal look into everything that goes on in Lotta's life, her knitting, gardening, pottery and all her different projects. It's also where she informs the public about the business' opening hours, new products and other updates. It's all the marketing for the business Lotta does nowadays.
PRINTS
ON PAPER
The prints for Stickstugan and Lottas Krukmakeri consist of price tags, labels, thank you cards, gift card, brochure, postcards, information signs, etc. Photographs are also provided to external printing projects, like cook books, magazines, newspapers and exhibitions.
"Jag är verkligen lyckligt lottad, som har haft förmånen att ha fått samarbeta med Mimi Gustafsson i mitt företagande. Hon har varit väldigt professionell, nogrann och lyhörd i sitt arbete att stärka mitt varumärke, genom att ta fram material, i både text, foto, video m.m. Mimi har varit väldigt kreativ i sina idéer när det gäller min nya logga, prislappar och bilder. Hon är dessutom en oerhört duktig fotograf. Hon har verkligen kunden i fokus och hon har lyckats förverkliga allt jag önskat och mer därtill."
OWNER LOTTA GUSTAFSSON, STICKSTUGAN/LOTTAS KRUKMAKERI
